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Secondary Antibodies

Secondary antibodies are polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies that bind to primary antibodies or antibody fragments, such as the Fc or Fab regions. They are typically labeled with probes that make them useful for detection, purification or sorting applications.

Sigma′s polyclonal secondary antibodies are produced from the serum of host animals such as mouse, rabbit, goat and sheep, whereas, monoclonal secondary antibodies are produced from mouse hybridoma clones. Secondary antibodies are used in many applications including:

Immunopurification

ELISA

Western blotting

Immunohistochemistry

Cell based assays

Flow cytometry

The specific utility of a secondary antibody depends upon its conjugated probe(s). Probes are molecules that support various detection technologies. The most common detection systems for conjugated secondary antibodies are colorimetric or fluorescent. Colorimetric assays are typically based on the use of alkaline phosphatase (AP) or horseradish peroxidase (HRP) or its derivatives. The biotin avidin (streptavidin) conjugate binding system is often used to amplify the colorimetric signal for AP or HRP. The most common fluorescent assays utilize Fluorescein (FITC), Rhodamine or its derivative, TRITC, Cyanine (Cy3), or Phycoerythrin (R-PE).

Sigma® Life Science offers secondary antibodies from a variety of host species. Search below for the secondary antibody to fit your research needs.